Green Eyes
by Beagairbheag
Summary: A night out doesnt go the way Eames thought it would, and now someones trying to frame her for murder. BAish.
1. Chapter 1

_Its short. But then again, I told myself when I started reading CI fanfic about six months ago, that I wouldn't write any as I didn't think I could get the characterisation right. So I think this is a good compromise._

_There may be a second chapter. I'm undecided as of yet. Depends if you guys think I could/should write one._

* * *

When she thought back on that night, things had actually been going quite well.

They had had a nice dinner, which he had insisted on paying for. They had enjoyed some live music and a bit of dancing. Nothing to complicated, just a simple waltz; not like dancing with her partner where it was all twists and turns.

She cant remember if she thought those words to herself when they stood arm in arm on the dance floor, but she might well have done and that would have been the start of it.

She thought of her partner more as she and her date took a stroll down the flood lit embankment where he tried to impress her with titbits of information and elusive facts about the area. She's sure she would have found the whole thing fascinating if she hadn't heard them before.

When they reached his apartment she was ready to call it quits and get a taxi home. He had surprised her then by pulling her close and planting his mouth firmly on hers. Instead of pulling away immediately, she found herself leaning further into the kiss and enjoying it.

After all, it couldn't hurt to get something out of the night besides dinner.

His mouth left hers for the briefest moment so that he could open the door then, taking her hand, he pulled her inside. They continued their actions in the elevator, where he managed to pull her top from her waist band and was currently pawing at the soft flesh beneath.

When they reached it, he somehow managed to unlock his front door without pausing his movements and they went crashing inside. The door slammed shut moments before her back hit it, his body crashing into hers, pinning her to the cool, hard surface.

His lips left hers to attack her throat, nipping and sucking on the exposed flesh. She merely stood there, her hands fisted in his hair and jacket. Her jacket was dragged partly down her arms and he moved to unbutton the shirt that she wore.

His mouth was feasting upon the tops of her breasts while one of his hands made its way under her skirt and beneath her panties, causing her to groan. His fingers entered her roughly and she threw her head back hard against the door crying out, "Bobby."

That, she decided later when she had a chance to think about it, was probably not the best thing to say.

Suffice to say that her date didn't take it too well.

His actions stopped and his whole body tensed as he slowly brought his head up to look her in straight in the eye. "What did you say?" he asked, his voice low and menacing, and at that point she wondered why on earth she had said yes to a date with this man in the first place.

When he swung her round suddenly and she hit her face of the side wall, she decided that enough was enough and a well aimed right hook sent him reeling down the corridor.

She let herself out the door, pulling it closed behind her. She with in the elevator with the doors closing when he yanked his door open and set off after her, shouting obscenities as he went. She merely shook her head and got out of there as quickly as she could, thanking her lucky stars when a taxi drove past at the very moment she exited the expensive looking apartment building.

As she settled herself back into the black upholstery on the back seat she decided it was all her partners fault. She had only accepted the date in a moment of spite. She knew he had been watching and was trying to make him jealous.

Jealous? She thought to herself sleepily, as the taxi arrived at her apartment and she paid him what he was due. Upon reaching her apartment, undressing for bed and finally crawling beneath the covers, the same question kept going over and over in her head.

Why on earth did she want to make her partner jealous?


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't have a plan for this story. What is to come, comes from me sitting down and typing out whatever comes to mind. It doesn't mean that I don't have an idea or two, because I do. But nothing definite._

_As usual, any comments, suggestions and words of encouragement are always welcomed. I'll admit that my grammar isn't the best, but I'm working on it, and anything you can have to say on it, would be welcomed._

_I didn't plan on this being this long, but something tells me you wont mind too much. Oh, and can anyone tell me why two page breaks take my work count from 1722, to 1846 (excluding this sentence)? It just doesnt really make much sense._

* * *

Her head felt like it had barely hit her pillow when her cell sounded out from somewhere in the darkness.

Eames lifted her head a little and groaned. If it was Booby, he was going to get hell for waking her.

Crawling from beneath the covers, she took a few wobbly steps across the carpeted floor of her bedroom. Her head hurt like hell. Digging her phone out of her purse she glared at it, daring the flashing screen to display the name of the person she almost wished it was. Just so that she could have a go at him for waking her.

Her Captains name and number where the ones flashing along to the beat of her ring tone. She flopped back down onto the bed, wrapping the covers back round her and savouring the warmth for a few a while longer. Knowing that a call from her Captain could only mean one thing for certain - that she wouldn't be getting a much needed lay in.

"Eames" she croaked into the phone, burying her head back under the covers.

"Detective? Are you alright?" came the Captains concerned voice. He had heard her answer him in many ways before, especially when he called at odd hours of the morning, but never sounding as she did right now.

"Ask me again in a couple of hours."

Ross sighed. "No can do Detective, I'm afraid. I need you and Goren over in Central Park. We have a double homicide that requires Major Case expertise."

Eames screwed up her eyes in confusion at her Captains tone, "Are you being sarcastic sir?"

"You'll see when you get there," was all he would tell her.

And when she hung up the phone, she was no wiser as to the nature of the case, or who was even involved. Nor the identities of the murder victims. Usually a crucial piece of information that generally revealed more about the case than anything else they might encounter within the next couple of hours.

She lay in bed for a few more minutes. Going over, in her head, what had transpired within the last couple of hours and even the time before that. Bringing a hand up to try and wipe the remnants of sleep from her eyes, she winced when her hand came in contact with her cheek.

The end of the evening came flooding back and with a curse, she threw back the covers and made her way hurriedly into the bathroom. Narrowly missing falling over her boots as they lay in her path.

She made her way in the dark, to the sink. Gripping the white porcelain for a long time before reaching up for the cord with one hand, and turning on the light above her mirror. Light suddenly flooded the small room and she had to close her eyes quickly against the stabbing pain.

Slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the increased amount of light, she opened them.

She stood for a long time just staring at her reflection. And her reflection stared back.

"Shit."

* * *

She strode confidently across the green turf. Well, as confidently as a person could at four in the morning on an bitingly cold October day, when they would rather have been back in bed, wrapped up laboriously against the cold and the world beyond the windows.

She was later than she had planned to be. The copious amounts of the makeup that she had at her disposal had failed her, and she had spent a further ten minutes trying to pick out a wardrobe that would help her hide the effects of the night before.

A hat was affixed to her head, pulled almost all the way down. It hit the corner edge of her eyebrows and sloped down towards the corner of her jaw. Effectively covering the side of her face. Her coat had a high collar, which she was using to disguise her lower face. A scarf, wrapped round her lower head, finished off her ensemble.

She was certain her clothing choice, along with the low light and several layers of makeup, would prevent anyone from remarking about the ugly marks that had blossomed across part of her face.

She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do when she was indoors, but felt that she had a few more hours to think up something in regards to that.

The scene was in a well known area of Central park and even at four in the morning, it was fairly busy, and attracting a fair amount of attention from those who where either on their way home, or on their way out for the day.

CSU where already on scene and she could see them skittering about, picking up pieces of evidence and bagging it. They didn't look as…excited as they usually did when dealing with their puzzle pieces (evidence to everyone else), and that was her first clue that everything wasn't quite right. That, and the low number of beat police. High profile murders created a lot of publicity, and the brass always wanted it to look like they where using half the police force to solve the crime as quickly as possible.

One of the uniforms lifted the crime scene tap for her, and she barely had to lower her head to pass under it. In front of her and slightly to the left, partially concealed by some shrubbery, was her partner.

No other man would be laying on the pathway on his stomach, head stuck in a bush.

"What do we have?" she asked as she came to stand beside him, foregoing any pleasantries. It was far too early. She knelt down by his shoulder and reached out a hand to pull back a branch.

"Two real bitches."

Her hand halted and her head whipped round so fast, that she wondered whether it was possible to get whiplash from a non impact related incident. "Pardon?"

His head turned and he shot a confused glance at her before nodding his head, indicating to the bushes.

Confused, she swiped at the bush. Pulling aside the leaves and debris, she revealed a small clearing surrounded on all sides by shrubbery. Except for one area that had been disturbed. Somebody had obviously walked through there recently, breaking branches and stirring up leaves. It was the two bodies in the centre of the clearing that caught her attention.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed as she took in the sight.

Beside her, now crouching on his hunches, Bobby nodded eagerly.

"Dogs? I was woken up, at half three in the morning, because someone decided to dump two dead dogs in Central Park? Is this some sort of joke?" she asked, standing up.

Mildly confused by his partners sudden change, Bobby stayed where he was crouched on the ground. Tilting his head, he looked up at her before cocking his head the other way and wondering about the strange way she seemed to be dressed that morning.

"They're Alaskan Klee Kia. Smaller than the Alaskan Husky but just as sturdy and,"

"Bobby," she interrupted, her voice course and sharp. "They're dogs."

"They've been murdered." he said simply, as though that answered everything.

"They've been murdered?" she repeated, feeling the anger swelling and attempting to get a hold on it.

"Yeah, see," he said, pointing with a pen he had taken from the breast pocket of his jacket

She took a couple of deep breaths and closed her eyes and tried to block him out for a moment, before opening them, giving him one final look, turned on her heel, and left.

He was sp caught up in what he was talking about, that he didn't immediately notice she wasn't by his side anymore. When he finally did, she was just about to cross under the crime scene tape. He jogged to catch up with her, wondering why she was going in that direction when the witnesses where in the other.

"Eames!" he called as he came up to her, falling in line. Retching out a hand, he pulled her to a stop and attempted to assess what was the matter.

Robert O Goren might be referred to as a genius by some, but when it came to his partner he felt like a fish floundering out of water. He just wasn't sure how to read her, or if what he was reading, was right. He didn't second guess himself often.

Except when it came to her.

"What?" her partner started as she turned away again - he had obviously been staring too long - intent on heading back to her car and then her bed. The captain could suspend her if he liked, she's prefer it actually. It would give the marks on her face a chance to heal. "No sarcastic remark? No parting comment?"

"You're way too cheery for this time in the morning, Bobby." she found herself saying as she continued walking, vaguely aware that he was hovering just over her shoulder. "And I'm going home. I didn't need this, this morning."

"No paws for thought?" he tried, his smile faltering slightly at the look she sent him. She wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"Even I wouldn't have come out with that one," she muttered as she kept on walking.

She didn't turn round and he didn't follow. She knew he wouldn't. There was still a crime scene to go over, witness's to question, CSU preliminary reports to gather. He wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

She wished he had though.


	3. Chapter 3

_The last chapter was a bit odd, wasn't it? I honest to god don't know where the dog idea came from, but it was the only type of crime I could see as being…silly enough for Eames to walk away from._

_This chapter is more traditional._

* * *

'_So soft,' _he thought as he ran a finger down the pale pink skin, savouring the feeling.

Not a blemish in sight. Absolute perfection.

The palest of pinks with a hint of a deeper blush in the centre.

All tightly bunched together and beautiful.

"Goren" the captain called out and Bobby jerked his hand away, catching his finger on a thorn.

'_Sharp and dangerous,' _he thought to himself as he placed his finger in his mouth, gently sucking on it. Letting the coopery taste of blood swirl round his tongue.

By the time he had made it to the bullpen of the Major Case Department at 1PP, they had already been there. The arrangement that they came in so big, that it cover the free space on her desk entirely and began to navigate across to his.

He had counted 26 of the palest pink roses. Once he had been able to move that is, the sight having caused a momentary lapse in any bodily movement that had kept him stationery by the doorway for a few good minutes. His mind working in overdrive.

He remembered then the date she had made hastily a few days ago, and judging by the flowers, it had gone well. Which was perhaps the reason she didn't want to be there this morning, he thought. Why she didn't want to be there with him when she had someone waiting at home for her.

His shoulders had slumped at the thought and he wearily made his way across to their adjoining desks. After having a quick look around to see if anyone else was in - not likely on a Sunday morning at 8am, but you never know - he quickly pulled the little message card from its envelope and read the single word that was carefully scripted on the pure white.

"_Sorry"_

Maybe it hadn't of gone as well as he thought then, or was he maybe just apologising for leaving her house - her bed - once she herself had left it in the early hours of the morning. Eames wasn't going to tell him either way. Of that he was certain.

"Goren," the Captain called again and Bobby pulled himself out of his seat and into the Captains room, closing the door behind him.

The Captain looked round Goren as though he was hiding something behind him, and then out into the squad room. "Where's your partner?"

"She eh," he cleared his throat, "She wasn't feeling too well. She went home."

Ross nodded and went back to the papers on his desk. "How's the case coming?"

"Its eh, progressing, sir." Bobby began, nervously moving from one foot to another. "It's a bit more difficult since we cant really eh, build a profile of who might have had it in for them."

"You think we're looking at a human involvement?" Ross asked, looking up at him.

"Its very likely," Bobby conceded, _'how many dog murders who use hunting knifes do you know sir?' _"You don't just go around killing someone's pets without a reason."

"Then find me a reason Detective, but be careful about it. These dogs where the property of the Mayors sister in law. Be careful on those toes you step."

Bobby nodded before turning and beginning to leave, Ross stopped him before he left.

"Call you partner, make sure she's alright. I've never known Eames to call in sick before," Ross added on as he waved a hand for Goren to continue on his way, before saying more quietly. "It must be something serious."

* * *

She had gone home and had managed to get a few hours sleep before the guilt of leaving her partner alone at the scene, and with investigation that was sure to follow, began to eat at her. The Captain hadn't called and by that, she knew that Bobby would have offered him some form of excuse on why she wasn't there.

Heaven knows she'd done it plenty of times for him in the past.

Around twelve she had gotten in her car - makeup laboriously reapplied - and had driven to the 1PP parking lot.

And here she was, thirty minutes later.

After taking a look final look in her review mirror, she had been unable to move. She thought she really ought to let someone at the makeup company know that their 'Cover up', didn't really cover anything up. Perhaps she should go home now and do that, instead of sitting in her car doing nothing.

Her plan was ruined moments later though, when one of the junior detectives in the department went past her car on the way to his own, spotted her and waved. She returned the greeting half-heartedly.

'_Damn' _she thought, she'd have to go up now.

It wouldn't do her any good to leave now and have Jamieson mention to someone that he'd seen her.

Since it was Sunday, the place was pretty empty. Anyone she did meet didn't pay too much attention to her, each being focused on their own reason for being at the office on Sunday and each hoping to get it done and finished up as soon as possible so that they could get home again.

The bullpen was empty when she entered it, for which she breathed a short lived sigh of relief. Her attention was caught by the flowers that adorned her desk and she saw red. The anger that blossomed so suddenly in her chest, caused her breathing to shorten and gaze to narrow.

Striding purposefully to her desk, she picked up the carefully arranged - and surely expensive - flowers, walked back towards the trashcans beside the elevators, and dropped them in.

She sure as hell wasn't in the mood for any apologises.

She sat down heavily at her desk and rested her forehead on the palms of her hands. She knew she shouldn't have come in. Her bed was looking increasingly welcome right now, especially with the renewed ache behind her eyes that signalled that a headache was incoming.

The dull, pounding ache that settled in her head a few minutes later, she failed to notice the arrival of several detectives and her partner.

Bobby had had his head buried in his binder when he had turned the corner into the room but lifted it as soon as he noticed his partner was sitting at her desk looking, from what he could see of her, utterly despondent.

"Eames?"

When she didn't respond, when she didn't even acknowledge his presence, he frowned. Closing his binder he set it on his desk, before kneeling down by her side and laying a hand lightly on her should, calling to her softly.

When she flinched away from his touch, he recoiled slightly. He went from mildly concerned to extremely concerned in a split second.

"Eames, what?" And then she lifted her head, her hair fell out of her eyes, exposing her face to his gaze.

And all hell broke lose.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm taking a bit of an artistic license with some of the medical stuff…bet that's got you interested now, hasn't it?_

_Thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot and are always an incentive to write more._

* * *

His thinks he swore.

She definitely heard him swear.

Hell, the whole floor probably heard him.

His hand automatically went to her cheek. She flinched backwards as his fingers came in contact with her tender, sensitive skin. "Owe, Bobby. Don't do that, it hurts."

She tried to turn her head from him, away from his prying eyes, but he cupped the opposite side of her face and forced her to turn back around. She closed her eyes as his gaze raked over her face, and further down her body, clearly checking for anymore marks.

"Did he do this?"

He didn't elaborate on who he was talking about and she didn't ask. She knew who he was talking about. She didn't even question how he knew it was someone, and not the result of her clumsy feet. She just let it be.

He was right anyway.

"Its no big deal," she said, trying to brush it off like a common occurrence.

She stood up and tried to walk off, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. As Alex dropped her head to avoid his gaze, she felt rather than saw him draw close to her. His breath came hot and heavy against her ear.

"Not a big deal?" he repeated, his voice low and barely restrained. "Have you taken a look in a mirror lately, Alex?"

"No," she replied, lifting her head to look him. "I've been walking around with my eyes shut all day, Bobby. Of course I've bloody looked in a mirror. How the hell do you think I tried to cover it up, huh? Pulled a brush laden with power over my face and hoped for the best?"

"Eames," Bobby began, his eyes darkening.

She felt her heart rate crank up another notch as he breathed deeply and anger flashed across his face.

"Don't Eames me, Goren. I'm not in the mood for it." With that she brought her other hand up to try and prise his left from her arm. It was an impossible task for although he had a grip on her, she hardly felt it.

"Let me go." she said.

"Tell me what happened," he countered, paying no heed to her request.

She merely glared at him and he huffed in frustration.

"I'm not letting you go till you tell me."

"And I'm not telling you. Period." She told him.

"Alex," he pleaded, his voice low and concerned.

She turned sharply away from him, unable to meet his eyes.

"Alex, please."

The room started to spin.

Slowly at first before speeding up a little at a time as though she where on some sort of fairground ride. There was a heavy thudding in her ears. It overpowered and drowned out all other sounds apart from his voice. That seemed to stay.

"Bobby," Her voice was strained and weak. Multi coloured dots where dancing about in her vision and the world seemed fuzzier than she remembered. "I need to,"

"You need to press charges, that's what you need to do." He replied, suddenly taking his hand from her arm and running it through his hair. He took a step back as though he needed to distance himself from her.

He was distracted enough that he didn't see her wobble. Her head felt heavy and her chin dropped towards her chest. He continued his rant, speaking more to himself than her.

"I don't know why you even agreed to go out with him in the first place, I told you; I warned you about him. But no, you decided to go ahead with it anyway."

"Bobby," she said once more, reaching out a hand wildly to grasp at him as her whole vision turned black and she knew no more.

He turned his attention to her at the last possible second to catch her before she hit the ground.

Gently he lowered her to the ground, calling out instructions to those around him for a bus and a blanket, all the while speaking to her, trying to get her to wake; to open her eyes. Anything.

She mumbled out something incoherent once, failing her arm about till he caught her hand in his own and she gripped it with strength he wasn't sure she should have, given the circumstance.

Captain Danny Ross was on his way back from an importune trip to the morgue when he rode up in the elevator with the ambulance crew. Unsure of what to make of it when they exited on his floor, even less when they made their way to the major case bull pen, he followed on silently.

The scene before him, caused him to start for a second before he hurried forward after the paramedics, reaching their side as they began their assessment of his fallen detective.

Ross laid a hand on Goren's shoulder. "What happened? I thought she was taking the day off?"

"She showed up about ten minutes or so ago," the big detective replied, keeping his eyes on the movements of the medical team as they checked his partners responses.

"I thought you said she was sick?" Ross asked as he caught a look at the side of Eames' face.

"That's what she told me," Bobby lied, "I didn't know anything about this till a couple of minutes ago. She just collapsed."

"Did she say how she hit her head?" one of the medics asked as he placed an oxygen mask over Alex's mouth and nose, looking over his shoulder at the large man that hovered on the edge of the activity, his hand firmly encased in a smaller one.

Bobby shook his head. She'd never actually said what had happened, so he didn't feel so bad about lying.

"Ok," the medic turned to the woman who worked with him as she readied the stretcher. "Her pupils are unequal and her heart rates erratic. She's unresponsive to all but pain." Between the two of them, they lifted her onto the stretcher and began to pick up their pieces, eager to get their patient to a hospital.

"Are you coming with us?" the female paramedic asked Bobby.

Although she seemed to be out of it, Alex had kept a firm hold of his hand, and he had had to manoeuvre himself about as they had placed her on the stretcher. He nodded his head before looking towards the Captain.

Ross nodded at him.

"Go," he said. "Call me when you have some news."


	5. Chapter 5

_What started out as a simple single chapter story, has evolved, and I now present you with the fifth chapter. As already mentioned, I don't know where this is going or how it will get there, but I'm looking forward to the journey even more now._

_Someone mentioned the "dog murders" in their review and to be perfectly honest with that person, they where in there because I needed something to fill the space. I am now considering delving into that story more though, so who knows what might happen. Stay tuned._

_Reviews always appreciated, no matter how short :)_

* * *

He hung outside her doorway for a long time before deciding to inch a little closer. He could see her resting on the bed, blankets pulled up and under her arms. The marks upon her face couldn't see seen at this angle but he had seen enough of them already.

_When they had arrived at the ER, they had had to prise his hand from hers and in doing so, had caused her to waken for a brief time. The hospital staff had attempted to make her talk about how she was feeling and how she had come by the bash to her head, but all she'd wanted at that point, was Bobby._

_He had stood by her head and talked quietly to her as they ran some standard tests. It was he who got her to hold her head still whilst they carefully removed the last traces of cover up makeup from her face, and the full extent of her injuries could be seen._

_He surprised himself by being able to stay in the room, when all he had wanted to do, was to track down the bastard who had caused them and beat him to a pulpy mess on the pavement. It would make him feel better. He knew he should never have introduced them, and carried round the guilt for the events that had clearly followed._

_She came round a little when the room cleared of many of the staff and he did his best to keep her talking till they returned._

_"Bobby? Where are we?"_

_"You're in the hospital," he told her, watching her eyes dart haphazardly around the room._

_"I don't like hospitals," she murmured, trying to burrow further into the pillow and blankets. "Can we go home now?"_

_"You hit your head, Alex. They need to check you out."_

_"No…they don't," she said defiantly. "I've had enough…bastards poking and prodding at me recently, I don't need anymore."_

_She tried to sit up then, and he had to use his weight on her shoulders to hold her down._

_"Oh," she said, "Now you want to get cosy. Well too late buster, I'm already spoken for. At least…I think I am."_

_"Alex," he began nervously, tongue darting out to swipe at his dry lips. A movement she found fascinating, and the only thing she seemed to be able to focus on. "What happened with Richard?"_

_"Richard?" she asked, frowning. The name meant something to her, she was sure. She just couldn't remember from where._

_"You where out with him, last night," Bobby prompted._

_"I was?"_

_"Yes," he said, hesitating over what he was going to say next. "He did this," and he ran the knuckles of his right hand down the injured said of her face. She flinched slightly and he began to draw his hand away, but her spare hand came up to his hold there._

_"No," she said with a frown and a shake of the head, "I think that was the wall."_

_"The wall?"_

_"Yeah," she nodded vigorously. "The wall did it."_

_Her eyelids started to drop then, and she seemed almost powerless to prevent it. Just as her hold upon both his hand and his suit lapels began to loosen, she spoke. "It was your fault, you know."_

_And he stilled. She yawned._

_"All…your…fault."_

_The heart machine that she was hooked up to, began to beat rapidly then and Bobby raised his head to look at it. He observed her heart rate rise rapidly and he felt his own speed up too. Hitting the emergency button by her bed, he turned his attention back to her, trying to wake her up again._

_Two nurses rushed back into the room just as her limbs began to jerk violently, pulling her hands from his grasp, and she descended into a seizure._

_The nurses where shouting then, calling for a doctor as they moved they lowered the bed and dropped the sides. Together they pushed another bed beside hers so that she had more room to thrash about in without injuring herself or following to the floor._

_Bobby took a few steps back till he felt his back hit the wall. He was unable to do anything else, but watch as they worked on his partner. The Doctor was there now, monitoring the machines that beeped by her bedside. He too did nothing but watch at the moment knowing only to well that a kick or hit from someone having a seizure, could cause a broken bone. With the patient often developing some sort of super strength._

_He came to stand by Bobby as she seemed to calm a little._

_"I take it she's never suffered from seizures before?" he asked, looking up at the large man who stood beside him. Bobby shook his head._

_Alex stopped just then and the Doctor excused himself, going over to check that she hadn't done herself any further damage._

_Bobby left the room then. Leaning his back against the wall in the hospital corridor he tried to control his breathing. She thought it was his fault, she blamed him for her injuries. He sank to the floor and raked his hands through his hair. He needed to get a grip of himself. At least for a little while._

_Pulling himself to his feet, he found the nearest nurses station and fell onto one of the chairs they had there. And he waited. His mind turned her words over and over in his mind._

_"It may not seem like it," said the Doctor handling her case, after he had come back from having her sent up for a scan. "But the convulsions actually suggest that there wont be any long lasting damage. They seem to be connected to the short term effects of a mild ,to severe concussion. Nothing to worry about, but I've sent her for a scan. Just to be on the safe side."_

_The Doctors pager had gone off then, and he had left Bobby to his musings._

_They had brought her back shortly after that, asleep. The nurses had let him know and he had visited her shortly. He hadn't spent too long in her room though, not sure on whether she would want him there when she woke._

"I don't bite you know," came her voice suddenly, snapping him out of his musings.

She was looking at him now, and smiling though the action must be causing her some pain. In their inspection of her, the Doctors had discovered a hairline fracture in her cheek bone. There was nothing they could do to it, but let it heal on its own and prescribe her some painkillers. The left side of her face was now on view and he felt a fresh stab in his chest at being partly responsible.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me." He answered honestly. If she was going to chuck him out, he would rather have it sooner, than later.

"Why?" she asked, puzzled.

"You um, you said it was my fault."

"What was your fault?" she asked, puzzled at the way he stood by the doorway as though he expected to be leaving through it in any second.

"Your…that he…that you're in here."

"And I said that when?" she said, frowning. She couldn't remember saying that. It certainly wasn't true, to an extent. She should never have agreed to the date in the first place and it was still causing her some frustration to work out why she had.

"Just after you collapsed."

"And you listened to me?" Unbelievable, she thought. When she wanted him to listen, he was off in his own little world but when she said something whilst in the midst of a severe concussion, he was all ears. "Bobby, from what everyone's said to me, I was out of it. You should ask the nurses what I was going on, and on about earlier. I cant remember it, but they certainly do."

"Sometimes, those types of situations, they bring out what we really want to say." He said quietly, looking at the floor. Unwilling to lighten the conversation.

"If I'd said the moon was made of cheese, would you have believed me?"

"Eames," came his annoyed response.

"Bobby," And she got a small smile from him.

"That's not fair Eames," he said, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. "You know I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to the moon landings. In my opinion, the moon could be made from foam for all we know."

They where silent for a long time then. She half expected him to make up some excuse and leave, or just leave without an excuse. She wasn't privy to the fact that he was wrestling with himself on whether or not to stay or go.

She stared at her hands on her lap as she tried to fashion a reply to his earlier statement.

"I think, that when I said that, what I meant…" she felt heat settle high on her cheeks, and for the first time since he had entered her space, she took her eyes from him. His own narrowed and he moved a tiny bit further into the room that she occupied.

She took a deep breath before turning and looking at him. "I'm only going to say this once, Bobby, so listen carefully. Ok?"

She waited till he nodded, pursing her lips as though she wasn't quite too sure where, or how, to begin. She turned away to look out of the window. It was quite a nice day out.

"Have you ever blurted out the wrong thing, at the wrong time?" she asked, briefly glancing at him to make sure he was still there, before looking away again. "The wrong time being when you're pushed up against a wall, the other persons hands doing things that, by right, should have you crying out their name instead of someone else's. But instead, you find yourself coming out with something that cant even begin to be remotely mistaken for that persons name."

He was closer now, he'd had to move. Her voice had lowered the further into her story she had gotten. She voice got faster the longer she spoke.

"Just because it was your name, and not someone else's, does not make it your fault. If its anyone's fault, its mine, or his. And since I know you wont be able to blame me, then we'll settle on it being his fault. Ok?"

He was staring at her, not to sure as to what she was trying to get him to agree to. He was still back at the part where another mans hands had been upon her, and she had thought of nothing else, no one else, but him.

He shook his head.

"No?" She concluded from the shake of his head.

"Yes, I mean, no," Bobby shook his head again. "What did you ask again?"

She let out a short burst of nervous laughter. "I said, why don't we just blame him and be done with it?"

He sobered up a bit then and turned his mind to the task at hand. "I still think you should press charges."

"Bobby, if I press charges, then the whole story is going to come out. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather it didn't. I mean, besides the obvious, I'm Detective Eames; renowned for kicking ass and pulling more weight than my 5ft 2" height should allow. Can you imagine what people will think when they hear I ended up in hospital because I let some guy throw me around?"

"Alex, he's ex-army. You couldn't have done more than you did."

"I'm still not pressing charges, Bobby."

He sighed and looked away from her then.

It didn't make him feel any better, but he had expected that. He knew she wouldn't want to press charges. She hadn't said anything about him paying Richard a little visit though, not yet anyway, and he thought that perhaps it was time to get out of there before she did. He wouldn't feel right lying to her about it if she asked.

He was about to open his mouth to offer her some sort of excuse as to why he was about to hightail it out of there, when his phone went off, his Captains name flashing over the small screen. "Its Ross," he said, staring at his phone. "I've got to go now, but I'll be back later."

"Duty calls," she answered, nodding her head. "Did anyone call my parents?"

"Yeah, your dad said he would be over later on this afternoon." The phone was still ringing, he was still there and he wasn't quite sure why.

"I'll see you later," he said, pressing the call receive button on his phone and walking out with it on his ear,

"Goren."

"Detective," The Captains voice sounded over the phone, "We have a problem."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the delay guys. I hit a wall and have been working out a way to get round it. It's also been a bit of a push to get back into the style I started off with in this story.

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you all now. The ending of the last chapter was chosen so that I _could_ end the chapter. I was struggling for a natural ending, so decided on that. Which originally left me with a problem and I had two ways I could have gone. I was going to let you guys decide, but have decided to go with my muse.

And the muse says…

* * *

As the cab travelled down the road, Bobby Goren was lost in thought. Something that was a normal occurrence for the 6ft4 NYPD detective. The fact that he was currently lost in thought about his partner, was nothing unusual either. He'd been thinking about her a lot recently. Thoughts of her often pushing out other less…amiable thoughts.

Reeling himself back in a bit, something she usually did for him, he took stock of the neighbourhood he was travelling through. It was a nice, upmarket part of the city - one he didn't venture into all that often unless a case called him here or he got lost on one of his rambles.

The street itself was unfamiliar, as was the building that they pulled up in front of, but he felt an odd tightening in his chest as he stepped out of the cab and into the foyer. The doorman behind a low hung marble topped desk waved him through when he flashed his badge and the uniform standing guard at the elevator doors, set him upwards to the correct floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, and down the hall to where the police tape stretched out across a doorway. The tightening around his chest had changed, and it now felt as though a weight was baring down on him and he knew that whatever he was to find once he crossed the fresh hold would effect him in some form or another.

Ducking under the tape, Goren came to a standstill just inside the doorway and took a look around the apartment. Everything was set to perfection; the furniture could have been imprinted into the room from a page in an up market catalogue. There where very few personal items around. A pair of shoes here, a couple of bills on the table beside the couch, a suit hanging on a peg. And Eames said his place lacked personality.

The found his Captain and ME Rodgers standing at the base of the bed after he had stuck his nose in a few rooms. Taking note of the military like fashion in which the bathroom products had been arranged. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

The body was laying partially clothed, flat out on the bed; the deceased's legs hanging of the edge of the bed.

It wasn't until Ross and Rodgers moved out of the way once they noticed he was in the room, that he realised who it was.

"Shit."

Ross sighed and ran a hand through his hair, taking a quick look at the body and then back at his detective. "I take it that's who I think it is?" he asked.

Goren moved past him, nodding distractedly, to take a closer look at the man laying on the bed. A man he had seen alive and well not two days ago. A man who had been with his partner late last night.

The man who had laid his hands on her and put her in hospital.

Bobby was suddenly glad his former army corporal was already dead. He'd contemplated what he would do once he's managed to track the guy down and none ended with the bastard walking away in one piece. At least he was no longer be facing a possible murder charge, with the guy already being dead.

Ross and Rodgers took a step backwards as Goren walked round the bed towards the DB's head to take a closer look. It was clear from the hole in his chest, to what killed him.

"Given your past with this guy, I don't want you on this case. I'm going to assign Wheeler and Logan."

Bobby didn't put up much protest to that. He knew that he wouldn't be able to remain unbiased in an investigation, especially seeing as though he had been meaning to track the guy down less than an hour ago.

"You need to see this," Ross said, moving away and motioning Bobby to follow him. The two men made their way from the apartment, down the hallway and into the elevator, taking it to the ground floor. Bobby noted the camera set high in one of the corners and imagined that the security must put the price of rent up by at least $500 dollars a month.

Ross led him behind the doorman's desk and into the security room, television screens lining one of the walls, various controls and one of the guys from CSU sat beneath them.

"Run the tape," Ross instructed, and with a quick glance in Goren's direction, the tech did as he was told.

Bobby watched as the screens came to life and he was confronted with the image of two people, obviously a couple, making their way unsteadily through the doors into the apartment building, across the floor and into the elevator. The scene changed then and the camera in the lift picked them up.

Ross watched Goren out of the corner of his eye as they watched the couple of screen get to know one another better, the large man over shadowing is smaller companion as he lent in to capture her mouth with his. Effectively using his weight to hold her against the wall.

All three of the men in the small room watched as the couple exited the elevator and made their way slowly along the hallway, fumbling at each others clothes as they reached the door to apartment 4D. The man could be seen pulling slightly away from the woman and say something to her before opening the door and ushering her inside.

As the tech pushed the fast forward button, Goren turned to his captain.

"I knew Eames had a date with him last night, I was there when they made it."

"And, she hit her head?"

Bobby looked down. "I didn't know the whole story then. I didn't want to make any assumptions."

Ross nodded. "Watch this."

The men turned their attention back to the screens as the CSU tech hit the play button again. Although there was no one on the screen, there was movement as the picture affixed to wall on the left hand side of the hallway - the one forming an outer wall of the apartment they where currently pulling apart bit by bit - suddenly shook. A substantial weight had obviously hit it with some force.

Goren's fist hit the desk solidly, startling the tech, as the screens showed the door of apartment 4D being swung open forcefully, all three men watched as Alex Eames stormed out of the apartment and towards the elevator as fast as she could.

The door that had swung shut after her, swung open again and they saw the furious face of their deceased. Though the video provided no sound, it was quite clear that he was screaming in the direction the petite woman had taken. He didn't follow her though, and as soon as the lift doors had closed on her, he slammed the door to his apartment.

The camera's followed Alex's movements down in the elevator and out into the street where they saw her get into a cab.

Ross nodded to the tech then, and he made a few adjustments to the equipment in front of him. Ross turned to Goren.

"Now, I'm not accusing anyone here," Ross began, "But at 2.10am a woman walked into the building, flashed a badge and claimed she needed to talk with the man in 4D. The name the woman gave, was Detective Alex Eames. Do you have any idea where your partner was at that time?"

It took what his Captain was asking him, a couple of minutes to sink in and when he finally opened his mouth to formulate a answer, he was interrupted.

"I don't think for a second, that is was actually her," Ross continued, "But given the time which she came in, and when she left, it almost guaranteed that she's our shooter. We are going to have to clear your partner though. Just for the investigations sake."

He turned back to the screens, which where now showing another woman enter the building and stop at the doorman's desk. After a quick look at her badge and once she'd sighed the sheet, the doorman let her pass. The camera's followed her trail up to the fourth floor and into the apartment they currently had a DB in. They watched her knock on the door and be admitted.

"He must have known her," Ross imputed as the tech forwarded the tape a few minutes till the woman reappeared and they watched her take the same route back out again. They never caught a good look at her face, she always kept it down and the hat that covered her head, blocked all other views.

"She's the same height, build and weight as your partner." Ross said with an air of certainty, "Whoever planned this, has been planning it for a while."


End file.
